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List of earthquakes in 1948

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Total fatalities
  
116,184

8.0−8.9
  
0

9.0+
  
0

List of earthquakes in 1948

4.0−5.9 magnitude 6.0−6.9 magnitude
  
7.0−7.9 magnitude 8.0+ magnitude

Strongest magnitude
  
Panay, Philippines (Magnitude 7.8) January 24

Deadliest
  
north of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (Magnitude 7.3) October 5 110,000 deaths

This is a list of earthquakes in 1948. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the list as they wouldn't have generated significant media interest. All dates are listed according to UTC time. This would go down as one of the deadliest years of the 20th century. The main factor behind this was the earthquake which struck Turkmenistan that left 110,000 people dead in early October. This was the deadliest single earthquake since 1923 when a great quake struck Tokyo. Other events during the year caused many deaths including one in Japan in June which resulted in over 5,000 deaths. The number of magnitude 7.0+ events (18) was around normal with the biggest event being in the Philippines measuring 7.8. Clusters of large events were reported in Latin America and the southwest Pacific particularly Fiji in the early part of the year.

Contents

By death toll

  • Note: At least 10 casualties

    • By magnitude

  • Note: At least 7.0 magnitude

    • January

  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Fiji on January 4 at a depth of 581.6 km.
  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Guerrero, Mexico on January 6 at a depth of 30.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Fiji on January 22 at a depth of 143.6 km.
  • A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Panay, Philippines on January 24 at a depth of 15.0 km. Seventy-four people in all were killed including two by a tsunami. Many homes were destroyed or damaged. Property damage costs reached $3.5 million (1948 rate).
  • A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Fiji on January 27 at a depth of 595.0 km. This was the third magnitude 7.0+ quake to hit Fiji this month.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Molucca Sea, Indonesia on January 28 at a depth of 15.0 km.

    • February

  • A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Karpathos, Greece on February 9 at a depth of 15.0 km. Some damage resulted from a tsunami striking the area.
  • A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Gulf of Tomini, Indonesia on February 9 at a depth of 170.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck southern Xinjiang Province, China on February 13 at a depth of 15.0 km.

    • March

  • A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck northeast of Buru, Indonesia on March 1 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck northwest of Luzon, Philippines on March 3 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Molucca Sea, Indonesia on March 13 at a depth of 15.0 km.

    • April

  • A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the south coast of Honshu, Japan on April 17 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Samana Province, Dominican Republic on April 21 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Ionian Islands (region), Greece on April 22 at a depth of 15.0 km. 2 deaths and 45 injuries were caused. Damage was heavy with 244 homes collapsing and 2,022 being damaged.

    • May

  • A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southeast of Kyushu, Japan on May 9 at a depth of 25.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Tacna Region, Peru on May 11 at a depth of 58.7 km. One person died and some damage was caused.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan on May 12 at a depth of 20.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck south of the Alaska Peninsula on May 14 at a depth of 25.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Canterbury, New Zealand on May 22 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on May 25 at a depth of 55.0 km. Eight-hundred people were killed, another 200 were hurt, and 600 homes collapsed.
  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on May 28 at a depth of 51.2 km. Four people died and some damage was caused.

    • June

  • A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the north coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on June 2 at an unknown depth.
  • A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Wakayama Prefecture, Honshu, Japan on June 15 at a depth of 24.4 km.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Yunnan Province, China on June 27 at an unknown depth. One-hundred and ten people were killed, a further 100 were hurt, and 600 homes were destroyed.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Fukui Prefecture, Honshu, Japan on June 28 at a depth of 10.0 km. Property damage was estimated at $1 billion (1948 rate), with 5,131 deaths as well as 11,000 injuries. About 63,000 homes were wrecked and 18,543 were damaged.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Samoa on June 29 at a depth of 35.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Dagestan Republic, Russia on June 29 at a depth of 35.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the west coast of Epirus (region), Greece on June 30 at a depth of 15.0 km. Six people were killed and some damage was caused.

    • July

  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the south coast of Honshu, Japan on July 7 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of southern Peru on July 20 at a depth of 30.0 km.

    • August

  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Veracruz, Mexico on August 11 at a depth of 105.3 km.
  • A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck central Alaska on August 19 at a depth of 100.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Salta Province, Argentina on August 25 at a depth of 30.0 km.

    • September

  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Dinagat Island, Philippines on September 2 at a depth of 100.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Tonga on September 8 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Kuril Islands, Russia on September 10 at a depth of 25.0 km.

    • October

  • A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the east coast of Taiwan on October 4 at a depth of 15.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just north of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on October 5 at a depth of 15.0 km. This quake was particularly destructive as it struck close to the capitol. In all 110,000 people died and many (at least 1,001) were hurt. The city was almost destroyed with property damage reaching $25 million (1948 rate).
  • A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Guizhou Province, China on October 8 at an unknown depth. Three people died and 75 were injured. Many homes were damaged or destroyed.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan on October 28 at a depth of 65.0 km.

    • November

  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck San Jose Province, Costa Rica on November 19 at a depth of 38.5 km.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Vanuatu on November 21 at a depth of 174.5 km.
  • A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Madang Province, Papua New Guinea on November 26 at a depth of 54.9 km.

    • December

  • A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southwest of Islas Marias, Mexico on December 4 at a depth of 15.0 km. Four people were killed and 21 more were hurt. Major damage was caused.
  • A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southern California on December 4 at a depth of 6.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Volcano Islands, Japan on December 15 at a depth of 246.6 km.
  • A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Commander Islands, Russia on December 23 at a depth of 20.0 km.
  • A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Antofagasta Region, Chile on December 26 at a depth of 100.0 km.
  • A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northern California on December 29 at a depth of 35.0 km.

    • References

    List of earthquakes in 1948 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA